Conflict in Fanfic and DUST teaser
There's stuff I ought to be doing but I really want to write right now. I'm conflicted.
But that's what I want to write about: conflict. Specifically I want to write about conflict in fanfic, because it's something that I think not enough fic authors understand.
Lately I've been on the hunt for something new and interesting to read and I keep finding myself stymied by lack of conflict in stories. Conflict is what makes a story interesting. It doesn't matter if the conflict is internal (Buffy is attracted to Spike, she wants to make hot monkey love with him, but what he is means she's ashamed of it and knows she should stop) or external (Glory is nearly unbeatable and trying to kill Buffy's sister, Buffy must stop her) or some mixture of both (Ben, at heart, is a decent guy who likes to help people, but his body is shared with an evil Hell God bent on the destruction of the earth. On the one hand he can't kill her, on the other, if he goes along with what she wants she might not kill him). Conflict can be major (a seasonal Big Bad waging war on the Scoobies) or minor (Dawn drank the last of the milk, leaving none for Buffy's cereal). What matters is that it's there.
There are all manner of "fix fics" out there that attempt to right the wrongs done by or to a character. However, what they often do is simply remove all conflict. Remove internal conflict and you can let a character do pretty much anything. Remove external conflict too, however, and what you end up with is a really boring story.
Personally, I love conflict. I love what it does to a character's arc, to their relationship with other characters. Part of the reason I love Spike is that he's just so conflicted. On the one hand, he's in love with Buffy--which makes him want to be a better man. On the other, he's still a demon, with all that that entails. He shouldn't *want* to be a better man. He shouldn't be in love with the person who is destined to slay him. He shouldn't be following after her or wanting to help her or any of that. He's confused, even as late as Season 6, as to what he really wants and what he should want. It makes him more interesting than if he suddenly gives everything he is over to his love for Buffy and ignores his inner nature.
Conflict moves a story forward and keeps your readers interested. There's a fic I read recently (I won't name names) where most of the conflict was resolved in one of the earliest chapters. Possibly even Chapter 2. We're now many, many more chapters in and the most conflict that has arisen since then is what they're going to have for dinner. I stopped reading when it became apparent that this was how this story was going to go. There's no external conflict: all of Character A's friends support her choice, all of Character B's friends support his. There's no internal conflict: they had a minor spat many years ago, and they hash it out early on and get with the sexing. The fic mostly is just telling us all about how happy their lives are now, and depicting what they do day to day.
Which is nice... but not even remotely interesting.
One of my favorite fics is Holly's "The Writing on the Wall" (which just won many well deserved accolades at the C2C awards), because it's so full of conflict, which creates suspense. Will they find out how to get Buffy out of hell? Will Spike be able to defeat the trials? Will he give in to his hunger? How will he get Buffy out of hell? Every step of the way, every single bit of conflict kept me reading and waiting on edge for more.
When I write, I sometimes try to map out the plot by mapping out conflicts. I just finished a chapter in DUST that looks something like this:
Setup: Spike is injured while doing a job that Buffy bullied him into doing.
Internal Conflict, Buffy: Buffy doesn't like Spike, and doesn't consider him to be a person. However he was badly injured while doing her a favor. This makes her feel bad. Bad enough to help patch him up even though he's the enemy?
Internal Conflict, Spike: Spike's angry that he let her bully him into doing her dirty work and he got torn up. In addition, he doesn't like her. She's bitchy to him and condescending. On the other hand, recent events have left him confused and somewhat attracted to her in spite of this. While he might be thrilled that she wants to play nurse, he's uncomfortable and feeling vulnerable about the whole situation.
External Conflict: Both of them are opposed to one another, and not nice. They spend a lot of their time jabbing at each other physically and verbally.
Resolution: ... you'll have to wait for the chapter to come out to read that, however I will say that I deliberately subverted what could have been a romantic hurt/comfort scene. The unrealistic (and troperiffic) typical resolution to this scene would be for them to heal each other's wounds and start a romantic relationship. Instead I tried to use this scene to really dig painfully at both of their wounds, internal and external. This extends the conflict, to some extent, but it also goes some ways toward an eventual resolution. It's a painful process... but to me, that's what makes it interesting.
Personally, I never aim to "fix" canon conflict when I write by removing it. (Well, okay, I did remove the Dawn/Glory conflict in "West of the Moon" but I added a different external conflict and kept everything else!) Part of what makes the canon interesting to me in the first place are the established conflicts. My aim is to resolve them in satisfying and plausible ways.Yes, it sometimes means that my stories are long, but I'd like to hope that they're still interesting, even toward the end. I also like it when some conflicts are left unresolved--the insinuation that there isn't always a "happily ever after" if you will, but that there is still room for an "ever after". That characters go on, and continue to grow and change and have adventures and more conflicts.
Okay, enough babbling. I know what you're really here for. I'm up to just over 24,500 words toward my Nano count (still behind but catching up). So here's your DUST teaser for today:
The sound of the shower stopped. Less than a minute later Spike was bellowing down the stairs: “Where’s your first aid kit, Slayer?”
For a second, she wondered if his yelling would wake up her mother. “Slayer?”
“It’s under the sink!” There, problem solved. He could find it himself. She turned back to her book.
“It’s not there!”
“Yes, it is! Look again!”
There was the sound of loud rummaging happening upstairs. “No, it bloody well isn’t!”
“Oh my god, I’m going to stake him,” she muttered, and hauled herself out of her chair. She stomped up the stairs to the bathroom. The door was open and steam was pouring out of the room into the hallway. What he needed to parboil himself for she had no idea. She waved steam out of her face and marched over to the sink, then knelt and began hunting for the first aid kit, which was right where she--
Huh.
“Told you it wasn’t there,” Spike said.
“I probably just left it in my--” She looked up and froze.
Spike was naked.
Or. Not naked. Exactly. There was a towel. The skimpy one with the ratty holes in it that she’d given him weeks ago and told him was his. It was sort of wrapped around his slim hips and held up by one fist. Only it was threadbare and thin and wet through and clinging to...
“Bedroom!” she blurted. “In my bedroom! The first-aid kit. I remember now. I cut my arm on Halloween and I stayed here that night and it’s probably there. In my bedroom. The bedroom that is... not here. So, I should go there and get it. Right now.”
But that's what I want to write about: conflict. Specifically I want to write about conflict in fanfic, because it's something that I think not enough fic authors understand.
Lately I've been on the hunt for something new and interesting to read and I keep finding myself stymied by lack of conflict in stories. Conflict is what makes a story interesting. It doesn't matter if the conflict is internal (Buffy is attracted to Spike, she wants to make hot monkey love with him, but what he is means she's ashamed of it and knows she should stop) or external (Glory is nearly unbeatable and trying to kill Buffy's sister, Buffy must stop her) or some mixture of both (Ben, at heart, is a decent guy who likes to help people, but his body is shared with an evil Hell God bent on the destruction of the earth. On the one hand he can't kill her, on the other, if he goes along with what she wants she might not kill him). Conflict can be major (a seasonal Big Bad waging war on the Scoobies) or minor (Dawn drank the last of the milk, leaving none for Buffy's cereal). What matters is that it's there.
There are all manner of "fix fics" out there that attempt to right the wrongs done by or to a character. However, what they often do is simply remove all conflict. Remove internal conflict and you can let a character do pretty much anything. Remove external conflict too, however, and what you end up with is a really boring story.
Personally, I love conflict. I love what it does to a character's arc, to their relationship with other characters. Part of the reason I love Spike is that he's just so conflicted. On the one hand, he's in love with Buffy--which makes him want to be a better man. On the other, he's still a demon, with all that that entails. He shouldn't *want* to be a better man. He shouldn't be in love with the person who is destined to slay him. He shouldn't be following after her or wanting to help her or any of that. He's confused, even as late as Season 6, as to what he really wants and what he should want. It makes him more interesting than if he suddenly gives everything he is over to his love for Buffy and ignores his inner nature.
Conflict moves a story forward and keeps your readers interested. There's a fic I read recently (I won't name names) where most of the conflict was resolved in one of the earliest chapters. Possibly even Chapter 2. We're now many, many more chapters in and the most conflict that has arisen since then is what they're going to have for dinner. I stopped reading when it became apparent that this was how this story was going to go. There's no external conflict: all of Character A's friends support her choice, all of Character B's friends support his. There's no internal conflict: they had a minor spat many years ago, and they hash it out early on and get with the sexing. The fic mostly is just telling us all about how happy their lives are now, and depicting what they do day to day.
Which is nice... but not even remotely interesting.
One of my favorite fics is Holly's "The Writing on the Wall" (which just won many well deserved accolades at the C2C awards), because it's so full of conflict, which creates suspense. Will they find out how to get Buffy out of hell? Will Spike be able to defeat the trials? Will he give in to his hunger? How will he get Buffy out of hell? Every step of the way, every single bit of conflict kept me reading and waiting on edge for more.
When I write, I sometimes try to map out the plot by mapping out conflicts. I just finished a chapter in DUST that looks something like this:
Setup: Spike is injured while doing a job that Buffy bullied him into doing.
Internal Conflict, Buffy: Buffy doesn't like Spike, and doesn't consider him to be a person. However he was badly injured while doing her a favor. This makes her feel bad. Bad enough to help patch him up even though he's the enemy?
Internal Conflict, Spike: Spike's angry that he let her bully him into doing her dirty work and he got torn up. In addition, he doesn't like her. She's bitchy to him and condescending. On the other hand, recent events have left him confused and somewhat attracted to her in spite of this. While he might be thrilled that she wants to play nurse, he's uncomfortable and feeling vulnerable about the whole situation.
External Conflict: Both of them are opposed to one another, and not nice. They spend a lot of their time jabbing at each other physically and verbally.
Resolution: ... you'll have to wait for the chapter to come out to read that, however I will say that I deliberately subverted what could have been a romantic hurt/comfort scene. The unrealistic (and troperiffic) typical resolution to this scene would be for them to heal each other's wounds and start a romantic relationship. Instead I tried to use this scene to really dig painfully at both of their wounds, internal and external. This extends the conflict, to some extent, but it also goes some ways toward an eventual resolution. It's a painful process... but to me, that's what makes it interesting.
Personally, I never aim to "fix" canon conflict when I write by removing it. (Well, okay, I did remove the Dawn/Glory conflict in "West of the Moon" but I added a different external conflict and kept everything else!) Part of what makes the canon interesting to me in the first place are the established conflicts. My aim is to resolve them in satisfying and plausible ways.Yes, it sometimes means that my stories are long, but I'd like to hope that they're still interesting, even toward the end. I also like it when some conflicts are left unresolved--the insinuation that there isn't always a "happily ever after" if you will, but that there is still room for an "ever after". That characters go on, and continue to grow and change and have adventures and more conflicts.
Okay, enough babbling. I know what you're really here for. I'm up to just over 24,500 words toward my Nano count (still behind but catching up). So here's your DUST teaser for today:
The sound of the shower stopped. Less than a minute later Spike was bellowing down the stairs: “Where’s your first aid kit, Slayer?”
For a second, she wondered if his yelling would wake up her mother. “Slayer?”
“It’s under the sink!” There, problem solved. He could find it himself. She turned back to her book.
“It’s not there!”
“Yes, it is! Look again!”
There was the sound of loud rummaging happening upstairs. “No, it bloody well isn’t!”
“Oh my god, I’m going to stake him,” she muttered, and hauled herself out of her chair. She stomped up the stairs to the bathroom. The door was open and steam was pouring out of the room into the hallway. What he needed to parboil himself for she had no idea. She waved steam out of her face and marched over to the sink, then knelt and began hunting for the first aid kit, which was right where she--
Huh.
“Told you it wasn’t there,” Spike said.
“I probably just left it in my--” She looked up and froze.
Spike was naked.
Or. Not naked. Exactly. There was a towel. The skimpy one with the ratty holes in it that she’d given him weeks ago and told him was his. It was sort of wrapped around his slim hips and held up by one fist. Only it was threadbare and thin and wet through and clinging to...
“Bedroom!” she blurted. “In my bedroom! The first-aid kit. I remember now. I cut my arm on Halloween and I stayed here that night and it’s probably there. In my bedroom. The bedroom that is... not here. So, I should go there and get it. Right now.”